The Countdown
by RamiereCalibre
Summary: "I'll do anything for you... but you have to promise me that you'll never fall in love with me."
1. Kevin Day

Disclaimers:  
All characters derived from Television serious Ben 10 Alien Force and all related content; none of the aliens and the like belong to me. Storyline and plot are my boasting rights and I beta chapters by myself.

This is going to my first story on my new account, huh...  
Don't know why I'm so into this pairing, but I guess I just am.  
Odd.  
I'd appreciate everyone's helpful criticism... Thank you vair' much~

* * *

Sunday. It was like heaven on Earth. Sabbath day. Kick up your feet on the console and flick through soccer games day. Eat popcorn for breakfast and pancakes for dinner day. To Kevin, it was just plain better known as **Kevin day**. It was his own time and he relished it to the maximum, since he never knew when he was going to be called out on a bleeding suicide mission.

Now that he was eighteen, Kevin felt that he and the rest had come a long way. Yeah, sure, it was great when it began, all this kickass alien shit... but over time the relationships they shared were really what took the cake. He'd never admit it, obviously, but he did enjoy the time he had with all of them. He and Gwen had hooked up (you don't say...), her Grandfather kind of poofed on them and made them go on a wild goose chase, and then Ben and Julie hooked up.

Kevin was pretty shocked since he didn't realize that Ben was actually intellectually capable of having a relationship with anyone, but oh well.

Now that Ben had his time occupied mostly with saving the world and then some with Julie, Kevin had more time away from the egotistical younger boy, what with the amount of time they'd spent gaming and the like before. That was the amusing thing. Even though he was supposedly in a relationship with Gwen, Kevin noted duly that he was consistently free compared to Ben, who constantly had his hands tied with having fun out with Julie and learning or teaching her one thing or another. He knew that the spark he once had for Gwen had died, and he also thought that she knew that the spark that she perhaps once held for him had been snuffed out as well.

So they broke up.

There were no causalities of the relationship; for the most part they acted sore but swiftly got back on professional terms. It took both of them about three months to get over the awkwardness between them now that they no longer had the intimate relationship they'd once experienced, but both of them emerged from the period unscathed. Now Kevin had his hands completely free, aside from the odd jobs here and there, mostly garage work. He'd settled in with a neat house down south in the neighbourhood, only a few minutes' drive away from Ben and Gwen's place. Julie lived opposite them. The close proximity was, also Kevin supposed, to ensure that in the event of an emergency, it would take no time at all to assemble the entire team.

And God, Kevin was bored shitless.

He wondered why he was actually in the team still. For years he's pondered the same thing. Honestly, he had no reason to be trusted. In fact, if he were in Ben's place, he'd probably waste no time in kicking his own sorry ass out on the road where it belongs. But instead, Tennyson had given him the opportunity (and GOD, it pained him to give the credit to the brat but he damn well deserved at least this much) to get back in the good graces of society. After the bridge incident over five years ago, Kevin had been unsure he'd ever integrate back into society as a contributing member of it.  
Legally.

Well, bottom line is that he made it, no seriously, KEVIN ETHAN LEVIN (fuck yeah~) made it back into society. Not only as a contributing member of it either; he was part of a team that kicks alien ass all over the God damn world. So beat that, suckers. Kevin knew that he owed Ben a hugeass thank you, but somehow couldn't muster up the humbleness to try it out, not even in the mirror.

He looked over his shoulder as he was trying out Assassin's Creed II for the first time. The doorbell had rung, and he paused the game. "I'm getting here!" he yelled as he grabbed his wallet. He presumed heavily that it was the pizza dude, whom he'd gotten on more than first-name basis on, if you knew what he meant. Kevin was enticing, and the kid was cute. What could he say? With over five months and no action, Kevin had decided that since he didn't have anyone in mind, it wouldn't harm him seeing how the prospects of the neighbourhood was.

He'd known he was bisexual since he was five. Damn, his Kindergarten English teacher was hot.

He swung open the door after the person standing outside rang the bell a second time. "Jeez, Will, could you chill, I'm just getting my wallet." He said without looking, and he counted out the bills swiftly. He was gaming, no time to invite Will in for the day. No one would be disappointed, both of them knew the ambiguous nature of their relationship. He was trying out a game, and Ben said he'd be over a couple of days later to try it out so Kevin had two days to get pro at it so that he could have one more game in which he could own Benjy's ass. "Alright, I got it, eighteen fifty-fiv..." he paused as he looked up for the first time.

"Tennyson?" he questioned with wide eyes, and then his eyes narrowed mockingly as he always was. He wondered why his body seemed to have the urge to sour all of his Godforsaken relationships. "What are you doing here?" he asked, relaxing in the doorway as he kept his money and pulled his wallet back into his ass pocket.

Ben lifted his head. His startling green eyes were panicked and alarmed. "We have a problem. Gwen seems too weak to fight since our last brawl, the Ultimatrix is being a rebel, and I think Julie's just plain terrified for once." He ranted, and Kevin blinked. He'd never seen Ben so bloody ruffled before. He sighed and scratched his head, and opened his mouth to say something, but Ben beat him to it again.  
"And uhm. Rojo is trying to destroy your car, so I think you'll have to run to our place since it's been parked there from yesterday when you got hung-over and you left without driving..." He added.

Kevin was out the door. God damn these Sundays.

* * *

"Can you guys seriously just screw off? Because this is going to take more than a failing malfunction of an alien transformation watch, a powerless Adonite and a worried girlfriend." Kevin growled. On normal occasions, all three of said insulted people would likely be yelling and screaming at Kevin, but even they knew when to stay clear of the situation. Number one, all three of them were unarmed.

And number two, they weren't sure if they should be more afraid of Rojo or Kevin. When it came to his car, the mechanic-fanatic was undeniably the most particular guy you'd ever see. And he did NOT take kindly to having it destroyed, either.

He placed his hand on the bonnet of his car just as Rojo rounded the corner. He glared at her. God damn her. "You lay one of your fucking screws on my car and I will pull you to springs, cogs and gears." He threatened seriously with a perfect scrowl. She laughed and shook her head.

"Oh, I'm not that much of a bitch." She smiled enchantingly, and then glared heatedly. "You see, I love mechanics. I'm not that sure I'd like to destroy that car. 1994? Good year for the works." She grinned. Kevin blinked.  
"Not bad, but 68' was definitely one of the better times."  
"Are you kidding me? 74' was the best time. Did you SEE the way they utilized four booster engines in the... You know what, forget it. I'm not here to make small talk with an idiot like you." She rolled her eyes.

Kevin shook his head to clear his mind of cars (Damn, that was hard) and he moved away as swiftly as he could. He landed on his back, his raven hair falling messily over the pavement as he was thrown backwards by his own weight in alarm. He growled and made a dive for his car, laying his hand on it. The Osmosian narrowed his eyes at the Cyborg and pushed himself to get at her, lifting his head as metal diffused into every cell f his body. "Aren't you sick of getting your ass kicked?" He asked her.

Rojo's eyes flashed as she put on a stance for attack. Kevin ran at her, one of his hands outstretched as he pushed against her form, and the pushing began. They were evenly matched for a moment before Kevin managed to make her back off bit by bit. "You've never defeated me, Levin. Don't get delusional now." She glared. He smirked, having struck a raw nerve.

"Au contraire, Jo'sey. My team had you on your knees." He pushed especially hard and Rojo landed on her ass. She cried out and he glared at her. "In other words, I didn't have to be the star of the team." He smirked again, noting duly that the rest of his team were too far away to hear his subtle admission to not being the star all the time. "I don't have to be the one who gets all the action. I don't have to be the centre of attention." He told her, pinning down one of her arms with his own and grappling for her other.

She pushed her hand out of its socket and a long wire extended far into the Tennyson house. From where Kevin was, he could see it. And it aimed directly for Ben's throat. His eyes widened as the window shattered and Ben was caught by the metallic arm.

"I'm not here to play games with you, Levin." She growled, though from her tone it seemed she wouldn't have minded playing a bit more with Kevin and staking their lives in battle. "I'm here for one thing and one thing only. And that thing's UNO'ed onto that annoying brat's wrist, so I'm gonna take him back where I came from and do what it takes to get the God damn thing off him..." She smirked as Ben coughed loudly. Gwen was trying to dislocate the cold steel arm, but to no avail. Rojo yanked Ben out of the house easily, and the young boy hit the brick red wall of the garage. Gwen yelled in rage and Julie ran over. Kevin stood rooted to the spot and glared at Rojo, not taking his eyes off her.

"Even if it means cutting his whole damn arm off."

* * *

How WAS that? Good? Bad? Hmm... Only the readers can tell me, because all writers never think they're good enough.  
Please Do Review~


	2. Expiry Date

Disclaimers:  
All characters derived from Television serious Ben 10 Alien Force and all related content; none of the aliens and the like belong to me. Storyline and plot are my boasting rights and I beta chapters by myself.

Well, all I can say is that Chapter two was a serious pain in the ass to write.  
I hope I didn't take the characters out of their personalities too much. It's something I'm always very paranoid about, for some reason. I guess it's annoying to readers if it happens too much.  
Oh well. Enjoy, I guess.

* * *

"No way. You take your claw off him or I'll make sure you can't feel your fingers... Oops, weak joke." Kevin growled menacingly. Rojo glared at him and smirked as she yanked on the wire, causing Ben to choke. Gwen made a grab for him, but was too slow as Rojo pulled her cousin by her side. Her other hand was raised to his thin throat and Ben inclined his head up as high as he could to escape the sharpness of her nails.

For the first time, Kevin faltered. She was right. This was too much of a coincidence. Gwen walked up cautiously, leaving Julie to stand close to the house, helpless. "What do you mean." She asked Rojo.  
"In other words..." Kevin lowered his upper body and got ready to dart forward when he saw an opening. Rojo took a wise step back. "Tell us or I'll pluck your face off, bit by bit." He threatened.  
"Levin, I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation here." She chastised him like a child. She leaned down and smirked as a small bead of blood formed where her nail pierced Ben's pale neck. His green eyes weren't reflecting fear of any sort; they were furious and angered. Kevin tsked loudly and shook his raven black hair out of his eyes. "I'm stronger and faster than I once was. No one's getting to me any longer. Why the hell do you think that witch's freaky ass pink things aren't working? Why do you think this kid's watch is malfunctioning?" She smirked.

She shook her head. "Oh, so stupid. Levin, you should know I'm doing this stupid child a favour." Ben bristled at the provocation, but maintained his surrendering position for the betterment of his neck. "And you, witch," Gwen glared heavily at her for the name, "Would be wise to back the hell off away from me. That is... unless you want to lose your gift completely." She smirked. Gwen immediately took a step back. Ben coughed as Rojo tightened her grip.

"Ben!" Julie cried out as she heard his cry. Kevin tsked again and Gwen looked angry.

"That doesn't explain a thing to us." Kevin growled angrily. Julie walked up to them.

"What are you waiting for?" she asked, clearly the most concerned any of them had seen her. "Let him go..." she muttered, afraid as she turned to Rojo. Then, louder, "LET HIM GO!" They could all see how angry Ben was becoming. What Kevin didn't expect was how Julie ran up to Rojo, reaching out in anger to strike the insane Cyborg girl. "DON'T HURT HIM!" she screamed. Kevin and Gwen reached out for her but it was too late.  
"NO!" Ben shouted, but Rojo had Julie pinned against the wall with her other hand. "Julie!" he yelled. With Rojo's other hand free, his neck was unthreatened by her claws. "DON'T HURT HER! SHE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS!" He shouted at his enemy.

"That," Rojo glared at Julie as she released her dramatically, causing the slim Japanese girl to fold on the floor, "Won't stop me from killing anyone in my way." She growled, as though challenging them. She was caught off guard as Kevin crashed into her, taking his best gamble at an opening. Ben looked at Kevin with wide eyes before he noted the large gash on Kevin's torso. Rojo glared at her attacker as Kevin yelled in pain, one of Rojo's claws having pierced into his skin. "YOU STUPID PIECE OF SHI..." she shouted. Kevin punched her and held her down with his strong hand, pulsing with his Osmosian blood.  
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WAITING FOR, YOUR BLOODY BARMITSFA!" He shouted at Ben, who woke up and backed away, his arm around Julie as he supported her. Gwen ran up to them and pulled them back into the house as they stood as protected as they could be from Kevin and Rojo's fight. "Screw this... couldn't you wait till Monday?" he asked Rojo, who promptly growled as she heard this.

"Villains have no days off or public holidays, idiot." She growled lowly as they started grappling. He landed her a hit and she pulled off, coughing. Just then, Ben managed the Ultimatrix and he went into Heatblast mode. He made it to the driveway, but Rojo seemed to take on a confused expression. Kevin backed off for awhile as he and Ben rounded on her, the seventeen year old allowed his hands to burst into flame. "Impossible." She whispered, and Kevin glared at her, looking at Ben who looked equally as confused. "It shouldn't be possib..."

"What are you talking about, you crazy bitch?" he asked, unable to hold in his questioned. "Why are you... what do you want with the Ultimatrix?" he asked, and Rojo shook her head.

"All I know is that... Whatever it is, Tennyson's days are numbered." She grumbled, as though she were equally as pissed that was all she knew. It was liable to be the case. Kevin ran up to her, but she had begun to run as well, and she was faster unwounded. For some reason Ben wasn't moving from the spot. "There's nothing left to do. I'm going." She growled, and just as Kevin reached out, jumping the fence, she was gone in a flash of light that looked suspiciously like alien technology. He cried out in pain as his gut pulsed and he doubled over, crashing to the floor in agony.

* * *

Kevin awoke in agony. Odd. He didn't recall anything happening before this, aside from his fingers poised for a mean game of Assassin's Creed II. Oh wait, no... It was all coming back.

He sat up abruptly, and was immediately given one hell of a migraine by three very energetic and concerned people. "DON'T GET UP!" Gwen screamed at him as he covered his ear comically. Julie ran to get him something to drink. He sincerely hoped it was coffee. Ben started pacing. His body seemed accustomed to the movement and Kevin wondered briefly how long they'd been waiting for him to wake up. He didn't seem to be in a hospital; the clean scent of antiseptic wasn't present in the air. It smelt homely and comfortable. He slowly leaned back against his arms, beginning to literally feel the stupidity of making sudden movements. He groaned a pain shot through his gut. He lowered his gaze and rolled his eyes and growled in annoyance at the bandages that adorned his naked torso.

"God damn it." He sighed, and took the coffee Julie presented him with relish. He downed it in seconds. "Where am I? What happened? Aside from that crazy bitch scratching my innards out, I mean." He dramatized. Ben paused and shook his head. Gwen bit her nails and paused several times as though she was about to say something but didn't. Kevin began to get annoyed and irritated.

Surprisingly, Julie spoke up. "Rojo was right about Gwen." She admitted, and Kevin cocked his head, confused. "Her powers are weaker now more than ever. After some research in the Plumbers database, we've managed to..."

"How the hell did you guys get into the Plumber's database anyway?" Kevin asked, suspicious.

"We hacked in." Gwen said simply. Julie blinked and continued.

"Rojo possessed something that was thought to be completely gone. It was a fragment of an ancient rune that had special properties." She walked to the side table and opened the drawer, taking out a stack of papers and flipped through it. She handed the booklet to Kevin, who promptly scanned the lines, and lay the stack down on his lap. "It had the ability to wreck someone's altered DNA. In other words, Gwen couldn't do anything because Rojo had her DNA checked down... and Ben couldn't do anything either because..."  
Kevin looked up at Ben. For a moment, he wasn't listening to Julie at all. The boy looked alarmingly serious as he stopped pacing and looked out of the window. The late afternoon sun beat down on Ben's matured face and Kevin watched as his dark green eyes possessed certain anger. He wondered if he was still angry about Rojo hurting Julie and concluded it must have been that. "Hold up. Ben could still transform, couldn't he?" he asked, and Julie shook her head.

"Ben collapsed after you bolted after Rojo. He couldn't move. The only reason why he could have transformed would probably be because he had accumulated enough energy to, but once he'd walked within close proximity to Rojo again, he couldn't do anything again... the fragment that was in her possession ensured it." Gwen interjected, and then her hand curled into a fist.  
"But what about me? I'm an Osmosian. I should have had my DNA affected too; why didn't anything hinder my powers?" Kevin asked, confused. Julie shook her head.  
"We don't know." The Japanese girl exhaled sadly.

"Damn it! We have no clue how many of those God damn fragments are out there." Gwen growled.

Ben turned to look at all three of them. "That aside, there was another disturbing thing we learnt." He told Kevin, and he walked up to the table and grabbed at an apple, biting into it. Chewing thoughtfully, he flicked his fringe out of his eyes. "Apparently this watch is nothing more than a ticking time bomb." He said as Gwen and Julie exchanged looks. Hissing, Kevin swung his legs from the side of the bed, ignoring Gwen's weak protests.  
"What do you mean?" he asked. They all know that the Ultimatrix was as temperamental as a menopausal woman, but it had never been described as anything remotely close to a ticking time bomb. Ben turned around and sighed heavily as he regarded the contraption jammed tight to his wrist, wired into his DNA.

"Apparently, the Ultimatrix utilizes a person's DNA as a raw specimen to contort and generate new experiments and to create new species." Ben explained. "But it, like everything else, has an extent to which it reaches. And when it's finished, it kills the user." He smiled at Kevin, whose eyes were wide as he regarded the young Tennyson.

"Coincidentally, we've discovered the Ultimatrix's **expiry date** is pretty much almost here. And I'm probably... no, I actually AM, going to die."

* * *

Omai. Ben's going to die?  
I hope not! But since I run and gun my writing, I never plan. I should really change that because it pisses me off... I never have any clue how my own story's going to end up.  
Stupid, I know...

Please review, it's vair', vair, appreciated.


	3. Behave Yourself

Disclaimers: All characters derived from Television series Ben 10 Alien Force and all related content; none of the aliens and the like belong to me. Storyline and plot are my boasting rights and I beta chapters by myself.

Happy birthday, my country. May our government be ever less money grabbing than other nations!  
I feel so patriotic for saying that. I'm proud of myself.  
Anyway, here's the second instalment. While I could have been writing a Drarry fan fiction now, I'm glad I'm not. I'd be too obsessed with it. Bevin is a much "easier on the eye" couple to write about.

Enjoy, readers. Thanks if you reviewed.

* * *

Gwen looked undyingly uncomfortable and Ben finished off his apple by the time Kevin decided he had processed enough of what all of them had said. He suddenly had the feeling of a massive hangover hitting him. It wasn't fair that they were hitting him with all this information while he was still in bandages, for God's sakes. "That doesn't make sense. The Ultimatrix is just a data storing device, we've already determined that. With the best technology available to mankind." Kevin blinked and faltered. No matter how good human technology was, there was no denying that... that alien technology was undeniably more advanced than theirs by far.  
"Whatever Rojo said was only the start. From now till then, we have no clue how much time Ben has left." Julie said seriously, and Ben shook his head.

"Soon. That's all we know. I don't know what I can do from now till then, but I'm going to use this watch to help the world as much as I can before it moves onto another unsuspecting wielder." Ben chuckled softly. Gwen rounded on him, glaring. Julie gave him an overly concerned look as Kevin processed the pure selflessness that Ben was displaying to him, not for the first time.

Gwen turned to him angrily and shook her head. "We're not letting you give up your life because of the Ultimatrix. There must be a way... some way." She said softly. Kevin thought there was something that laced her tone, aside from the usual concern and care. Desperation. Her cousin was about to die for the betterment of the human population, and she was struggling with being helpless to stop it from happening.

He suddenly felt like he was going to throw up and stumbled out of the bed, falling onto the floor. He never knew how badly he was injured till he coughed up what he never knew he'd digested into a bin that Julie had swiftly brought to him. Groaning, he stood up and leaned against the bed. Ben looked at him and shook his head. "What if there isn't a way?" Kevin asked weakly, still nauseated. He guessed that it was probably because he was unused to the simpleminded way in which Ben just emanated a sickly sweet caring vibe.  
"Then I guess dying this way isn't such a bad thing after all." Ben smiled.

Gwen glared at him and Julie spoke up. "Honestly, Ben, Kevin, don't be so pessimistic. I'm sure there's a way to reverse the Ultimatrix's effects..." she stopped when she saw Ben shaking his head. Without another word, Ben headed towards the door and opened it, stepping outside. Kevin sat down on the bed and for the first time in a long time, felt just as helpless as Gwen.

"Shit."

* * *

The following days were painfully slow. Kevin woke up, read whatever Ben brought him and waited for some miraculous report from the doctors to tell him he could self-discharge from where he had learnt was a small and private but comfortable clinic. It hadn't been as expensive as admitting him to a community funded hospital, so they had taken him there instead. The treatment was equally if not more extensive and while the other three were content with the deal they had, Kevin simply wanted to check himself out of the place.

Today, Ben had taken him a Gaming magazine and some Japanese food with a kickass name that he couldn't pronounce. Julie had cooked it for him, and he attacked the food with a generous appetite. He felt the awkward atmosphere hit him between the eyes. He cleared his throat and was about to say something when Ben looked up at him.

"I broke up with Julie." He said simply.

Kevin choked on his Ebiko rolls.

"What?" he asked drily. Ben refused to meet his eyes as he shook his head. Kevin repeated his question with an incredulous tone. "What? Ben, why... you and her... I thought..." he stumbled. Ben nodded.  
"We had it. It was real." He told Kevin. Kevin put his fork down and pushed the tray away from him. Ben stared, but Kevin didn't feel hungry anymore. He allowed the uncomfortable silence wash over both of them for awhile before he looked at Ben again.

"Is this because..."

"Yes." Ben answered instantly.

Kevin felt the bile rise in his throat. He'd once thought that Ben was so lucky to have the Ultimatrix strapped to his wrist, that the childish boy was privileged enough to be able to steal all the limelight and always get his face plastered across the television. The he was lucky to be a kid's hero. That Ben was the luckier of both of them. With what they had learnt yesterday, his perspective had completely changed. No matter how many times he would have appeared on the television, he would never have wanted that God damned watch on his wrist if he knew he'd lose his life. And though Ben never voiced it, he was sure he felt the same way.

"Did she ask?" Kevin questioned. Ben nodded, and smiled softly.  
"Yes, she did." He said, rather unnecessarily. "I told her what I thought. That while what we had was real, it was better for us to have ended the relationship early. I didn't want her to be broken when I leave." He said.

Kevin couldn't stop himself, couldn't stand the tone in which Ben was saying what he did. His arms reached out and grabbed Ben by the collar. "DAMN YOU, TENNYSON!" He yelled. Ben's eyes were wide with shock as Kevin held him firmly, standing up, though it did hurt his ribs. "Stop... stop talking like your life is over! Don't you dare say any of this to Julie or Gwen ever again..." He slumped over from the effort of getting up and Ben's arm came behind him to support him. Kevin's weight was too much for Ben, apparently, and he gasped and winced as Kevin fell over on top of him.  
"Ugh..." Kevin groaned with pain as a doctor ran into the room. He glared at both of them.

"Mr Levin, I believe I told you to take it easy. There will be no more public displays of affection from now on. Mr Tennyson, unless you prove that you can **behave yourself** in the hospital ward, you will not be permitted beyond the doors of this room." He warned.  
Ben and Kevin stared at him as he exited the room with a maddening flourish of his fancy white robe and click of a pen tapping against a black clipboard.

Ben looked up at Kevin as the door clicked shut. Both boys finally realized how close they were and they cleared their throats at the same time. Slowly, Kevin got back up. The logistics were weird. He groaned softly, and Ben sat down in the chair he was previously in. As Kevin regained his breath, the room was completely quiet and they were back where they started, as if their confrontation had never even happened. A long time later, Kevin shook his head and Ben lowered his eyes.

"I'm sorry."

The Osmosian didn't look at him. "If you're really sorry then stop talking that way. It's not helping anything if you keep talking like you're going to leave all of us so soon. It's only hurting Gwen and Julie. It's scaring them."  
'And me.' He surprised himself.

Ben looked up at Kevin and nodded. He bit his lip and both of them jumped as his cell phone buzzed with tenacity. He picked up the call and Kevin could hear Gwen's concerned voice sifting through the speaker. "How's Kevin?" she asked. Ben smiled softly and Kevin bristled at the sight of the young boy, releasing a soft shudder as he thought about what was going to happen to him; destroyed by something he'd never welcomed into his life.

"He's okay. Do you want to talk to him?"  
"It's okay... Just tell him I'm sorry I couldn't visit, I'm bogged down with work at the firm."  
Kevin picked the phone from Ben's hands, much to the boy's irritation. Kevin smirked and it was, for a second, almost like it had always been. He'd miss moments like these. "Don't worry about it, Gwendolyn." He teased, knowing she didn't find much comfort in her name. He could literally feel her rolling her eyes on the other end of the line.

"Alright then. Get well soon Kevin; I have to go now. My supervisor will skin me alive if he knows I'm using the office line for personal calls." She sighed and hung up.  
Kevin handed the phone back to Ben, who slid it back into his pocket. Kevin took the magazine and took the liberty of flipping absently through the content of it, scanning the lines with vague interest. He stopped at the page featuring Assassin's Creed II, remembering. He turned to Ben, who was watching him. As Kevin's movement stilled, his dark green eyes raised to meet Kevin's hardened onyx eyes. His eyes widened slightly, before settling into a dull smile. "What?" he asked.  
Kevin shook his head. "Nothing."

An awkward silence.

Ben took the dishes and started washing them in the sink. This alone was enough to alarm anyone; Ben had no cleaning tendencies. This meant that he was brooding about something. And Kevin didn't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out what it was. He hated to think that Ben was going to live every moment of his life like there was a deadline for him to meet ever since yesterday. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. "Leave them." He told Ben.

"It's fine."

"FOR FUCK'S SAKE, I SAID LEAVE THEM!" Kevin yelled. The doctor burst into the room, glaring at them both. He spoke pointedly at Ben.  
"I think you need to leave now. Mr Levin needs time to recuperate and he will get it, forcible or not." He said harshly. Ben dropped what he was doing and turned to go.

"I'm scared, Kevin. I'm sorry." He said. Kevin looked at him and didn't say a word as Ben left.

* * *

Oh dear. Poor, poor Ben... poor, poor Kevin. In fact, I should be sued for writing such a sad story. I'm sorry everyone. Please don't hit me.  
Reviews would be nice. I need to know what everyone likes to read.  
Till next time~


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